Suction cleaner



Oct. 15, 1940. c. H. TAYLOR 3 w SUCTION CLEANER Filed Feb. 19, 1937 2Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR 4 j (bar/es lily/0r BY A74? ATTORNEY Oct. 15,1940. H. TAYLOR 2,218,184

SUCTION CLEANER Filed Feb. 19, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INV'ENTOR .lzarles1225 101 ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 15,1940

- UNITED. STATES SUCTION CLEANER Charles H. Taylor, North Canton, Ohio,assignor to The Hoover Company, North Canton, Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio Application February 19, 1937, Serial No. 126,653

Claims. 401. -16).

. The present invention relates to suction cleaners in general andparticularly to new and 'novel supporting means by which the cleanerbody is adjustably supported relative. to asurface covering undergoingcleaning. More specifically,

the invention comprises a suction cleaner in which the cleaner body ispivotally supported upon an ambulatory chassis in such a manner that atleast a part of the weight of the forwar part of the cleaner iscounterbalanced.

The specific nozzle height adjusting mechanism herein disclosed anddescribed forms the subject matter of copending application SerialNumber 102,883, filed September 28, 1936, now Batent 2,146,006. It is anobject of the present invention to provide a new and improved suctioncleaner. It is another object of the invention to provide a new andimproved connection between the body and the chassis of a suctioncleaner. A still further object is the provision, in a suction cleaner,of av pivoted body which is pivotally supported upon an ambulatorychassis and which is spring counterbalanced to offset at least a part ofthe nozzle weight. Still another object is to provide a suction cleanerin which semi-automatic adjusting means raise and lower the cleanernozzle relative to the surface covering undergoing cleaning, andrelative to its supporting chassis, there being counte'rbalancing meansto oflset at ieast a part ofthe weight of in connection therewith theattached drawings to which they relate. r

Referring now to the drawings in which a preferred embodiment oi! thepresent invention is disclosed, and in which the same reference char--acter refers to the same part throughout:

Figure 1 is a side view of a suction cleaner embodying the presentinvention with certain parts broken away to show the semi-automaticnozzle height adJusting means and the pivotal counter-balancingconnection between the cleaner body and the ambulatory chassis;

Figure 2 is a bottom view of the cleaner shown inFigure 1; n

Figure 3 is an enlarged showing of the knife edge pivotal connectionbetween the cleaner body and the chassis as illustrated -'in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a transverse section, upon the line,

4-4 of Figure 2, through the knife edge pivotal Figure 5 is a view inperspective of the Y- shaped chassis.

In the modern suction cleaner, the height of the suction cleaner nozzlerelative to the surface covering undergoing cleaning is adjusted bymeans which are semi-automatic in the sense that the operator need onlydepress an actuating lever to efiect a proper adjustment regardless ofthe operating conditions. By the present invention has been provided apivotal connection m between a cleaner body and its supporting chassisby which the body is partially counterbalanced at its n-ozzle'end topermit of eflicient and effective nozzle adjustment by the semiautomatic means.

Referring again to the drawings, a modern suction cleaner isdisclosedand comprises a body proper I which includes a nozzle 2 having front andrear lips 3 and 4, respectively, and which is interiorly connected by apassageway 5 to the eye 6 of a fan chamber'l.

exhaust outlet 8 leads from the fan chamber and to it is removablyconnected a dustiilter bag 9. The body I also includes a motor hood IIIwhich encloses an unshown driving motor, the shaft I I of which Arotatable agitator I3, including rigid beater aoelements It and brushelements I5, is positioned within the nozzle 2 being adapted to'contactthe surface covering undergoing cleaning between the lips {and 4. Apower-transmitting belt I6 connects agitator I3 to the driving shaft IIand 36 upon the rotation of the motor agitator I1 is driven.

The entire cleaner body, together with the filter bag 9, is supportedupon a Y-shaped chassis '20, perhaps best illustrated inF-igure 5. The 4chassis itself is movably supported by front wheels I8, IB'which areenclosed in the bifurcated downwardlyeinten'ding forward extg'gnities ofeach of the arms of the chess and by spaced rear wheels I9, I9positioned at ihe foot of the Y. The chassis 20 is positioned-under bodyl of the cleaner and is substantially hidden from view. by the dependingside walls which extend rear wardly from nozzle 2. At the base of the Yof the chassis aligned tnansversely extending V- to shapedupwardlyfaclng channels are provided which are adapted to receive and tiltinglyseat downwardly depending knife edges or shoulders 22, 22 formed on theunderside of body I immediately thereabove. V

The cleaner body is drawn to and held against the chassis 20 through thecooperation of a compression coil spring 23 which encircles a dependingthreaded bolt 24 carried by the underside of body and which extendsthrough a relatively large opening 25 positioned in the chassis betweenrthe V-shaped seats 2|, 2|. An internally threaded nut member 26 seatsupon bolt 24 and contacts the lower end of coil spring 23 which issufli-ciently compressed to draw the bolt and so the cleaner bodydownwardly. To protect spring 23 from foreign material which wouldotherwise collect thereon, a protector cup 2.! is provided whichencloses the spring and seats directly on nut 26.

.It is important to note that bolt 24 is positioned rearwardly of avertical plane through the line of contact of depending knife edgeshoulders 22, 22 of the body with their seats 2|, 2| on the chassis. Therelationship is such that coil spring I0 pivots the rear of the bodydownwardly about the pivotal axis thereby tending to lift the nozzle endof the cleaner upwardly.

The nozzle adjustment means disclosed are only illustrative of thegeneral type of adjustment with which the counterbalancing pivotalmounting invention, it being claimed in a co-pending ap-,

plication, as stated supra. The present invention, in which the cleanerbody is movable relative to the supporting chassis and iscounterbalanced, is

. important and effective in any type of adjustment in which the weightof a surface-contacting portion of the cleaner is a factor indetermining the nozzle height adjustment.

The particular nozzle height adjustment illustrated includes a fixed,inclined abutment member 30 secured to the underside of body and movabletherewith. This abutment is contacted by a cam 3| formed upon theforward end of camratchet lever 32 which is' pivoted near its forwardend upon a pin 33 carried by seat 34 at the for ward extremity ofoneofthe arms of Y chassis 20. A bell-crank 35 is also pivoted upon pin 33and has at its lower and forward extremity a pin 36 which pivotallycarries a pawl lever 31 formed with a dog 38 at its outer end which isadapted to seatupoon the ratchet teeth at the rear and of lever 32. Acoil spring 39 encircles bell-crank-carried pin 36 and contacts thecrank at one of its' extremities and at its other underlies pawl lever31 urging that member upwardly at all times. In its uppermost positiondog 38 of pawl lever 31 contacts an abutment 40 formed on the undersideof the adjacent arm of chassis 20.

Cam-ratchet lever 32, together with bell-crank 35 and pawl lever 31,which are all carried by the chassis as distinguished from. body-carriedabutment 30, are adapted to form a rigid unit when the dog 38 of lever31 is held in place by spring 39 against one of the ratchet teeth 'ofthe lever 32. This rigid unit is pivotally mounted by the pin 33uponchassis 20 and is, in normal cleaner operation, held in a fixedposition by the foot lever which is pivoted by pin 46 to thechassis.Lever 45 is spring urged to an uppermost position by a. chassis-carriedcoil spring 43 which encloses and urges upwardly therod 44 carried bythe lever 45 rearwardly of its pivot pin 46. Forwardly of the pin 46,

' lever 45 is formed with an arm 41 which slidingly encloses'a pin 48carried by bell-crank 35.

'pivots counter-clockwise.

encircles one of the pins 51 and urges the handle' forwardly, asillustrated in Figure 2, while upon the other arm 55 an arcuate sectoris provided which is contacted by a roller detent 6|, of a common andwell known type, which resistingly holds the handle in certain positionsand within fixed ranges of movement.

The operation of the suction cleaner constructed in accordance with thepresent invention is like that of other common and well known Y cleanerswhen performing the cleaning operation. The distinction, however, fromprior cleaners lies in the perfection of the nozzle height adjustmentwhen the cleaner body is mounted to the supporting chassis, as taught bythis invention. This superiority arises from the fact that insemi-automatic nozzle adjustments of the type disclosed, a pre-requisitecondition to the proper adjustment of the nozzle is that the nozzle, orsome part of the cleaner body as distinguished from the supportingchassis, shall rest substantially upon the very top of the covering tobe cleaned in order to gauge the height thereabove to which the nozzleshould be lifted. The supporting chassis cannot perform this gaugingfunction for the weight which it supports causes it to sink into thecovering. Likewise the cleaner body cannot satisfactorily perform thisfunction if it exerts too great a force in contacting the covering. Bythe mounting comprising the present invention the body weight issufficiently counter-balanced, or compensated for, that the surfacecontacting body part can rest on the top of the covering and will notsink therein.

Upon the cleaner embodying the present invention being placed upon asurface covering to be cleaned the first operation should be to adjustthe cleaner nozzle, together withthe agitator carried thereby, in properposition to operate with maximum efi'ectiveness upon the covering. Theoperator accomplishes this by depressing the rear ,end of foot lever 45.From that point on the entire adjustment is automatic and the followingtakes place.

The downward movement of the foot lever 45 rearwardly of its pivot 46causes the arm 41 thereon forwardly of that pivot to move up wardly.This movement of arm 41 is transmitted to bell-crank 35 through the pin48, which the arm slidingly encloses, and results in thecounter-clockwise movement of the crank, as viewed in Figure 1 As thecam-ratchet lever 32 and pawl lever 31 are related as a rigid unitthrough the locking of the dog 38 of the pawl with the ratchet teeth oflever 32, the entire rigid unit This, obviously, results in the downwardmovement of cam 3| which supports the cleaner body forward of itspivotal axis through the abutment 30.

The counter-clockwise movement of the rigid unit continues until the dog38 of pawl lever 31 contacts abutment 40 of the chassis and, against theforce exerted by 0011 spring 39, moves rearwardly and from the ratchetteeth. The nozzle end of the cleaner is now free to drop into contactwith the supporting surface for the cam 3| no longer opposes thedownward movement of now be removed. The spring 43 then causes the arm41 of lever 45 to move downwardly and the bell-crank to pivot clockwise,as viewed in Figure 1. As crank 35 pivots it draws pawl lever 31 alongabutment 40, on which it rested, and

into engagement with the ratchet teeth of camratchet )lever 3'2. Theposition of the camratchetlever 32 at the time of this engagement, itshould be noted, is determined by the position to which the lever hasbeen pivoted by the body abutment acting on cam 3| when the body moveddownwardly to its surface-contacting position. Thereafter, thebell-crank 35, cam ratchet lever 32, and pawl lever 31 move asa rigidunit counter-clockwise under the force exerted by spring 3 through arm41 until the foot lever 45 has again reached its upper'and originalposition. This movement of the unit results, of course, in the liftingof the nozzle by the cam 3| on camratchet lever 32 acting on abutment30.

The height to which the nozzle is raised above the supporting surface bythe adjustment may or may not be identical with its original height. Itsfinal position is determined by what part of the cam 3| contacted theabutment at the beginningof the final lifting operation, and morespecifically, at the time the pawl engaged the ratchet teeth. The lowerthe nozzle descended the closer to its pivotal pin 33 was the point ofcontact of the cam 3| and abutment 30. And as the vertical lift upon thecam being pivoted varies substantially directly with the distance ofthis contact point from the cam pivotal axis, it is clear that thefunction performed by the counterbalancing means in limiting the sinkingofthe lips into the covering is very important.

I claim: I v I 1. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a wheeledcarriage, a body supported upon said carriage for limited tiltingmovement about a horizontal transverse axis offset from the center ofmass of said body in a rearward direction, releasable means normallysupporting said body against tilting, a bolt anchored in one andextending through an aperture in the other of said carriage and body andoffset a short distance from the axis of tilting movement of said body,and a spring'carried by said bolt to counterbalance in part the forcesacting to tilt said body when said supporting means are released.

2. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a wheeled carriage, a bodysupported upon said carriage for limited tilting movement about a.

horizontal transverse axis oifset from the cenpending from ,theunderside of said body ter of mass of said'body in a rearward direction,releasable supporting means normally holding said body against forwardtilting under the force of gravity, a bolt anchored in one and extendingthrough an aperture in the other of said carriage and body and offset ashort distance from the axis of tilting movement of said body, and aspring carried by said bolt and acting to counterbalance. in part theaction of gravity upon the tilting movementof said body.

3. In a suction cleaner the combination of a carriage having wheelsmounted at the front and rear ends thereof, a body mounted on'saidcarriage for limited tilting movement about a horizontal knife-edgebearing located rearwardly of the center of mass of said body, a boltdepending from the underside of said body and through an aperture insaid carriage at a point offset a short distance rearwardly of the lineof said knife-edge bearing, and a compression spring carried at thelower end of said boltand bearing against the underside of saidcarriage, said spring acting to anchor said body upon said carriage andto counterbalance a part of the weight tendingto tilt the body forwardlyand downwardly.

4. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a carriage having wheelsmounted at the front and rear ends thereof, a body supported upon saidcarriage for limited tilting movement about a transverse knife-edgebearing located rearwardly of the center of mass of said body, a boltdeand passing through an aperture in said. carriage at a point oifset apredetermined short distance rearwardly of the line of saidknife-edgebearing, a compression spring carried at the lower end of saidbolt and bearing against the underside of said carriage, releasablemeans operative to hold said body against forward and downward tiltingmovement, said spring acting to counterbalance a part of theweightcausing said body to be tilted in a downward direction when saidholding means is released.

5. In-a suction cleaner, he combination of a carriage having wheelsmounted at the front and rear ends thereof, a body supported upon saidcarriage for limited tilting movement about a passing through anaperture in said carriage at a point oflset a predetermined shortdistance rearwardly of the line of contact of said knifeedge bearing, aco pression spr ing carried at the lower end of sai underside of saidcarriage, foot actuated releasable means acting normally to hold theforwardend of said body against tilting in a downwardly bolt and bearingagainst the direction, said spring acting to counterbalance a- 3 part ofthe weight causing said body to tilt when said holding means ismomentarily'released.

CHARLES H. TAYLOR.

